CONOR MCGREGOR fought back tears as he processed defeat to bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Notorious returned from a two-year layoff at UFC 229 to lock horns with the undefeated Russian - who claimed the lightweight title during his hiatus.
The build-up to their fight - the biggest in UFC history - was dark and ugly and upped the stakes for their 2018 Sin City showdown.
Despite showcasing better takedown defence than initially expected, McGregor ultimately came up short against the Dagestani destroyer - suffering a fourth-round submission defeat.
The pain of defeat, however, didn't initially hit him as Nurmagomedov sparked the now infamous post-fight brawl seconds later.
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But it overcame him once he returned to his dressing room - where he had to fight back the tears after sitting down.
McGregor was consoled by long-time trainer and mentor John Kavanagh before son Conor Jr ran over to him and seemingly brought a smile to his face.
UFC president Dana White entered moments later, but McGregor was in no mood for making excuses for his second octagon loss and the ensuing brawl.
He said: “Who cares about that? That was handbags. I was beat, and that’s that.
"I was beat where it mattered, and that’s it. End of. Who cares about any of the other s***?”
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Nearly two years after the painful defeat to Nurmagomedov McGregor, 34, admitted he didn't give his all in training camp.
He said: "Last time I was just not committed, simple as.
"That led to injuries and doubt in the mind. It's very simple, put in the time and you'll get the reward back.
"Set a time to train and then train at that time.
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"Set a time to go to sleep and then go to sleep at that time.
'"Set a time to get up and then get up at that time.
"Don't tell yourself you need to do something and then don't do it.
"I knew in my head I was saying 'Get up at this time' but I didn't get up at that time.
"'Train at this time' but I didn't train at that time. 'Don't drink that' but I drank it.
"These all just infiltrate my mental strengths. Little defeats instead of wins and they just culminate, so I'm figuring myself out like I never have before."
Former two-division champion McGregor will be back in action later this year against fellow fan favourite Michael Chandler.
A date for their showdown, however, hasn't been announced as McGregor has yet to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency's testing pool.
